I've been doing my homework to find a real coffee machine and found 2 options. The technivorm has won on excelency of coffee flavor, but lacks of automatic features and looks like a laboratory. The second option is the Capresso which i've read that makes the best (home made) coffee and has better design.

I am 100% sold on the Technivorm. I have a Moccamaster CD and would buy another in a heartbeat. Automatic features, like grinding the coffee and setting it up the night before, run contrary to great coffee. Make sure there is room in your budget for a great grinder ... everything is an accessory to the grinder.

Coincidentally, I upgraded from a Mr. Coffee to the Technivorm Moccamaster CD.

Yes, Technivorm has several models ... CD = Clement Design ... and they come in different colors ... mine is graphite as opposed to the chrome in the picture below.

As for the grinder, there will always be a lot of debate, but I recommend you purchase the best you can afford. In my opinion, If your can afford the Rancilio Rocky, buy it. If you don't want to go that high, you can look at the KitchenAid Pro Line. The better the grinder, the better your coffee. If you ever decide to enter the world of espresso, the Rocky will take you there competently.

I have a KitchenAid Pro Line and that is what I used with my Technivorm since June. A few weeks ago I got a Mazzer Mini, and it made such a difference in all of my brewing methods, that I have not touched the KitchenAid since. All of the flavors are just clear as a bell now. I was contemplating taking the KitchenAid to work, but now I am thinking about selling it and buying the Rancilio Rocky for work.

I have never cared for thermal carafes and gave up on them some time ago. I brew my coffee and put it into a pre-heated (really hot tap water) Thermos Nissan thermos and it stays piping hot all day long. They even have brew-in carafes now. I think there was another thread here recently about that.

What's your beef with thermal carafes? I have the KBT 741 because I don't want a hot plate. The thermal carafe works just fine (though not the world's greatest pouring spout). It's just a thermos Caleb so the temping with hot water applies just as much as a with a seperately purchased one. I'd suggest that you go with a gold filter (Swiss Gold or something similar). Paper filters will give you a slightly cleaner (less silty) cup, but you'll lose just a bit of flavor so it depends on your preference. Grind just a hair coarser for gold vs. paper.

Many people love their thermal carafes; its personal preference, and do note that I referenced the brew in carafes that someone else mentioned in another thread. Like I said, I gave up on them a long time ago and one of the reasons was, like you mentioned, poor pouring; perhaps they have improved, but I prefer to be able to see the brew first and note the color and clarity (meticulous, I know, but it is part of the whole for me). I have not found a thermal carafe, that comes with a coffee maker, that can keep coffee hot as long as my thermos (rated 24 hours hot / cold). My coffee goes into the thermos (easier to take to work) at 4:30 AM and at 4:30 PM it is still hot enough to enjoy the flavor changes as the cup cools. On the other hand, I agree with your hotplate position as I don't use the hotplate either because it just cooks the coffee and quickly ruins it; even at home on the weekends, the coffee goes directly into the thermos. I can tell you that the Technivorm hotplate gets extremely hot and they even have a switch to make it hotter.

In the other previous thread that I referenced, there are questions to help someone decide which Technivorm they want. The first question is whether or not one wants a thermal carafe.

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